Adventures of the Pizza Pony
by retrobakon
Summary: Meet Caesar Antonio Mozzarella, an Italian Food specialist who moves to Ponyville. Join him and various other characters as they embark on adventures of friendship, and FOOD! Note: This story is the foundation for most of my other works on MLP. Think of this as the roots and trunk, and most other MLP fanfics I do as the leaves and branches. Essentially, read this before my others.
1. Prologue: A Party for Gummy

The day in Ponyville started off as any other would; pegasi cleared the sky and ponies all around were cheerful and lively. One by one shops opened and ponies made their way around town doing errands and such. One of the many shops that opened their doors that day was Sugarcube Corner. Inside the establishment a certain pink earth pony was preparing a party for her pet alligator.

"Alright Gummy, are you ready for the MOST EXCELLENT BIRTHDAY PARTY EVER!?" Pinkie shouted in her usual lively voice.

The alligator in question sat atop a counter watching Pinkie Pie expertly craft a large square cake. She was a fine baker, and her treats were well renowned from Ponyville all the way to Canterlot. She could make any baked treat or pastry you could think of. However on this birthday, Gummy had voiced to her a desire for some fine Italian cuisine. Pinkie could bake some mean muffins and such, but her pizzas and pastas were nothing to write home about. Pinkie gladly took the request into consideration, and was pondering how to get some choice pizza for her good friend.

"What do you think Gummy," she said as Gummy stared at her with large adorable eyes, "I don't think I know anypony who can make super tasty pizza…"

Just as she put her hoof to her chin and began stroking it (smearing cake batter and frosting all across herself as she did so) the door to the shop opened and two ponies made their way in. One of them was Pinkie's good friend Rainbow Dash, and the other was a pegasus pony with a grey coat and light blonde hair. The latter pony tripped on her own hoof as she entered the room, crashing into a coat rack as she fell.

"Careful Derpy, let's not pay for anything more than the muffins we ordered…" Rainbow Dash sighed as she made her way over to Pinkie.

Derpy carefully got up and brushed herself off, muttering something along the lines of "I just don't know why I tripped".

"Morning Dashy! You here for those muffins?" Pinkie asked as she wiped her hooves off and made her way over to the oven.

"Yeah Pinkie, and thanks for making them on such short notice, Derpy here forgot it was her birthday party tomorrow and didn't get any food."

"Hmm, y'know I'm having a party for Gummy's birthday in a few days, and I can't even think of how I'm gonna get some yummy delicious pizza for him."

"Well Pinkie, some new pony just came into town the other day, and he's supposed to be a really good Italian food cook or something. I was gonna give 'em a call and order Derpy some lasagna for tomorrow."

"OOOH A NEW PONY IN TOWN! How exciting! I'll go see him later and order Gummy his pizza, and hopefully make a new friend!'

Pinkie returned to the counter with a large box of a dozen and a half muffins, all of various flavors and sizes. Derpy made her way over to the counter and sniffed the box, her mouth beginning to water as she did.

"They look great Pinkie, thanks!" Rainbow Dash said as she laid a small hoof-full of bits on the counter. "You're going to Derpy's party tomorrow, right?"

"Of COURSE Dashy, you know I wouldn't miss a party!"

"Sweet, I'll see you tomorrow then."

Derpy grabbed the box of muffins and put it on Rainbow Dash's back, then the two of them made their way out of the shop. Behind them Pinkie shouted "Buy girls, see you tomorrow!".

"Whew, glad Dashy told me about that new pony Gummy, now I can get you some delicious PIZZA!"

Pinkie grabbed Gummy and hugged him, and he gave her a friendly lick on the cheek in return.


	2. Derpy's Lasagna

Rainbow Dash and Derpy Hooves made their way across Ponyville from Sugarcube Corner to the newly established Italian food restaurant near Rarity's boutique. They had just picked up a box of muffins for Derpy's birthday party, which was tomorrow.

"Alright Derpy, do you want just lasagna, or maybe something with it?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Derpy pondered for a moment, then said "I think I just want a big lasagna."

"Sounds good." Rainbow Dash hummed as they passed many large houses and businesses.

After a few minutes they got to a small building, with a small wooden sign hanging above the door. On the sign was a picture of a nice cheese pizza. The building was older than most others in town, and Rainbow Dash recalled it being empty for a long time. In fact she could not even remember what had been in that building previously.

"Ooh…" Derpy took a deep sniff of the air surrounding the shop, "Something smells yummy.

Rainbow Dash and Derpy opened the front door and the aroma of tomato sauce, mozzarella, fresh herbs, and various other ingredients filled their nostrils. The inside of the store was much nicer than the exterior, and was styled in the fashion of an old pizzeria. Small tables were positioned against the walls, and pots of herbs and other vegetables brought color and life into the restaurant. A pony stood behind the counter, preparing some spaghetti. He had a medium length brown mane and a long brown tail, both of which were rather unkempt, but not necessarily bad looking. His coat was a light tan, and he had eyes that were deep blue. He wore a white apron, which was stained with various sauces and such. When he noticed Rainbow Dash and Derpy standing by the door, he gave them a smile and said "Welcome welcome, come on in!".

Derpy and Rainbow Dash made their way to the counter, both seeing the kitchen in the back loaded with fresh ingredients and cookware.

"Welcome to my shop, my name is Caesar Antonio Mozzarella, and how can I help you on this fine day?" He said as he gave a small bow of his head.

"Uh, my name's Rainbow Dash, and this is my friend Derpy Hooves, her birthday's tomorrow and we were wondering if you could make her a lasagna."

"But of course, as you can see by my cutie mark, and this restaurant of course, I am an expert at making ALL types of Italian cuisine. I'd be happy to make you fine ponies a lasagna. Now what kind would you like?"

Rainbow Dash leaned over the counter and saw the pony present a cutie mark of a full pepperoni pizza. "Well there's gonna be a lot of ponies there, so we need something big."

"Hmm, I can recommend the large party sized lasagna, it has four types of cheeses, my signature tomato sauce, fresh herbs, and many other tasty ingredients."

"Yeah that sounds good. Y'know, you're the first Italian food chef to set up shop in Ponyville in a while. What brings you here?"

"Well you see, I was once a member of an elite group of chefs who catered for Princess Celestia and Luna personally. I cooked many meals for them, and they were very gracious. But one day I decided to share my talents with as many ponies as I could. With the princess's blessing, I took my food on the road and travelled until I stopped here in Ponyville. I fell in love with it as soon as I laid my eyes on it. Now I happily serve the people here by crafting for them the finest cuisine I can."

"Wow, so you know the Princess? My friend Twilight Sparkle, or should I say Princess Twilight, used to be her student."

"Yes of course, Celestia told me many stories of her student Twilight, and of all her friends."

"Wait, if you cook Italian food, why don't you have an Italian accent?" Rainbow Dash asked as she made the sudden realization that Caesar did not in fact have an accent.

"Easy," Caesar replied as he began gathering the ingredients for the lasagna, "my mentor was a very famous chef, who was Italian. I however was born in Manehattan. I do have some Italian heritage, hence the name."

"Ahh, I see" Rainbow Dash said.

"Now getting back to the order, I can have it ready tomorrow afternoon, and I will personally hand deliver it to you, for no extra charge of course."

"Sweet, the party's gonna start around 3 p.m., so if you could have it there any time around them that'd be great." Rainbow Dash said as she placed a hoof-full of bits on the counter.

"Sounds excellent," Caesar said as he swept the bits off the counter and into the cash register, "I look forward to seeing you both tomorrow, and might I say happy birthday to you miss Derpy."

Derpy blushed and muttered a thank you as her and Rainbow Dash made their way out of the store. "Have a great day!" Rainbow Dash called back.

"You as well!" Caesar replied.

And with that Caesar returned to gathering the ingredients for the dish.


	3. A Change of Venue

Derpy Hooves was setting up a table in a field right outside of Ponyville in preparation for her birthday party, which would begin half an hour later. There had been a small fire at her house, caused by some attempted breakfast preparation. In any case, Rainbow Dash had stayed behind to clean up a bit, and wait for Caesar to arrive with the lasagna. Derpy had flew all around town dropping leaflets telling everypony the party had moved to the field a half an hour before, so the guests were well aware of the new location. Just as Derpy finished setting up the table, Twilight Sparkle and Spike arrived.

"Happy birthday, Derpy!" Spike said as he placed a neatly wrapped gift on the table, then sat down on the grass.

"Sorry we're so early, but I figured since I had nothing else to do today, Spike and I might as well come over and see if there was anything we could help with." Twilight said as she levitated a quill and blank "to do list" scroll over her head.

"Thanks guys," Derpy said as she began thinking of the things that still had to be done, "there're a couple more things that need to be done I think"

"Perfect! Spike, get ready to help!" Twilight said as she motioned Spike over.

"Aww, but Twilight, I was just getting comfortable…"

Meanwhile at Derpy's house, Rainbow Dash was clearing out smoke with her wings, anticipating Caesar, or the Pizza Pony as she called him, to arrive with the food. She forgot to tell him the party had been moved, and was too busy, and a bit lazy, to go tell him. Just as she was clearing out some of the last of the smoke from the dining room, a knock came at the door.

"Finally." Dash said as she made her way over to answer it.

When she opened the door she saw not Caesar, but rather her good friend Fluttershy, who was carrying a rather large present on her back.

"Fluttershy, what are you doing here? Didn't you here the party was moved to the field under my place?" Dash said as she invited Fluttershy in.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I didn't get the memo…" Fluttershy said as she stared at the floor blushing.

"Eh whatever, it's fine. I'm just waiting for the food to get here. When it does, you can just head over with me. Oh and also, would you mind giving me a hand with the last of this smoke, Derpy almost caught her house on fire trying to make breakfast…again…"

"Oh, I'd love to."

And with that, both ponies began blowing the remaining smoke out of the house.

While Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy cleared the house of smoke, a certain earth pony pizza guy made his way down the street with a rather large lasagna on his back.

"Ah lovely, what a nice town. And full of nice ponies to boot. I can't wait to get to the party. I'm sure glad I've been getting such good business lately." Caesar chimed to himself as he passed myriads of jolly ponies all over Ponyville.

Not too far down the street, he saw smoke coming up from the house where he was to deliver the food. Upon seeing the sight, Caesar began galloping as fast as he could towards the home to make sure everypony was okay. While he was doing this, the lasagna wobbled to and fro, looking as though it would be launched from his back at any moment. However he was a trained and experienced delivery pony, who prided himself in using wagons and carts only on the biggest orders to the furthest places. Needless to say, Caesar reached the house with the food unscathed and promptly began pounding on the door yelling "Hello, is everypony in there okay?! I saw smoke!".

Rainbow Dash proceeded to open the door, with a rather surprised look on her face.

"Caesar, what's up? I see you've got the food. Mmmm, smells good!"

"Ah yes, I saw smoke and was making sure everypony was okay." Caesar said, now calming down a bit at seeing how mellow Rainbow Dash was.

"Of course everypony's safe, me and Fluttershy here were just clearing out some smoke. Derpy tried to make some breakfast earlier, but failed. Speaking of which, we moved the party to a field near here. Hope it's no trouble." Dash said as she gestured Fluttershy to come here.

"Oh it's no trouble at all. A field sounds excellent. Now I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting you Miss Fluttershy." Caesar said as he looked over to Fluttershy, who was tracing circles at the ground with her hoof, her head bowed down with face out of sight.

"Hello…" She muttered under her breath.

Caesar looked at her for a few seconds, then at Rainbow Dash, who simply shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes.

"In any case, let us be off!" Caesar said with a reassuring swing of his hoof.

With that, the three ponies made their way out of the house and towards the field.


	4. The Day of Derpy's Party

Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Caesar Mozzarella all made their way down the streets of Ponyville, and towards the field where Derpy's party was taking place. By now the party would have just started. As a matter of fact, the local party pony, Pinkie Pie, had already arrived to help with all the last minute preparations. Of course she was armed with her party cannon, a tool which she rarely left home without. Along with Pinkie, many ponies from Ponyville were beginning to file into the field. Twilight Sparkle was quite impressed at how many ponies showed up. The gift table was overflowing with presents of all shapes and sizes, and Twilight had made a list of which pony had brought which gift. There were tables all over the field stocked with treats of all kinds, but in the center was one large table, empty save for a few utensils. This table was reserved for the lasagna Caesar was bringing, a lasagna which Derpy was heartily looking forward too.

"Alrighty Spike, I think everything ready for the party!" Pinkie said as she let off one last blast of her party cannon, littering the ground with an excess amount of confetti.

"Yup, I'd say we did a pretty great job. What do ya say Derpy?" Spike said as he turned to face the birthday filly.

"It looks amazing!" Derpy said as she did a loop-de-loop in midair, almost crashing into Octavia Melody, who would be helping to provide some excellent jams for the celebration.

When Twilight ensured that everypony was in attendance, based off one of her many lists, she gathered them around for a few announcements. "Alright everypony, the main entree should be here any second." She said as she glanced over to the road near the field. Just as she did, an intoxicating smell filled the air around the party, causing more than one pony to begin drooling in hunger. Coming up the street could be seen a group of three ponies, one pulling a particularly large cart.

"They're here!" Called out Spike as he ran in circles, eagerly awaiting the dish that brought the excellent smell.

"Sorry we're a bit late everypony, but the cart is pretty heavy, and Caesar can only go so fast with it." Rainbow Dash said as she motioned over to Caesar, who looked as though he was having no trouble at all with the cart. "Oh yeah, and everypony, let me introduce you to Ponyville's newest Italian food chef!" Rainbow said as Caesar made his way forward.

"Hello everypony, I am glad to make your acquaintance! It is quite exciting to be here in Ponyville, and let me be the first to say do not hesitate to stop by my shop for some tasty cuisine hoof crafted by yours truly. Now without further ado, let's dig in! And HAPPY BIRTHDAY DERPY HOOVES!" He said as a loud cheer began welling amongst the guests.

The lasagna was set up at the special table, and Caesar personally handed it out to every hungry pony. The guests did not hold back their love for the dish, and many ponies complimented him, some more than once. With the center dish, the party had begun, and everypony was thoroughly enjoying themselves. Rarity had made Derpy a modest birthday ensemble, which she wore with a huge smile. Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, and several of Fluttershy's bird friends were playing excellent covers of many great songs, with some dubstep and classical flavor. One one of the songs that got the biggest response was _Hoofloose_ by Kenny Hoofins. Several songs warranted standing ovations from the crowd. The party was starting off with great power, and only picked up speed as it continued. With the help of the musical crew, one of the best instances of happy birthday was sung to Derpy, to which she blushed and thanked everypony. The party was going amazing, and ponies danced hard to the beat of many classic songs.

"Twilight, isn't it time to open presents?" Spike said as he pointed to the table, which now had presents stacked on the ground around in due to lack of space.

"Yeah I think you're right Spike," Twilight said as she made her way onto the stage just as the band was finishing _I Trotted_ by A Herd of Ponies. "Everypony, it's now time to open the birthday presents!"

A loud cheer erupted from the crowd as Derpy made her way to the present table. By now it was about 8:30, and the sun was beginning its descent towards the horizon. Just as Derpy was reaching for the first present, two shapes manifested out of the clouds, two chariots carrying none other than Princess Luna and Princess Celestia respectively. Derpy was elated, and rushed to meet them as their chariots landed.

"Hello everypony!" Celestia said as she made her way off of the chariot, and towards Derpy, holding small present on her back. Luna followed her, with her own gift on her back. Celestia's had white wrapping paper, with a pink bow, and Luna's had dark violet wrapping paper, with a dark teal ribbon. Both princesses placed their presents in front of Derpy, and both said their respective hellos and happy birthdays.

"Now everypony, I think it's time the birthday filly opens her presents!" Celestia said as she retreated into the crowd, making her way towards Twilight Sparkle. When she got to Twilight, she hugged her and said hello. "How are the new wings treating you?" She said as she pointed a hoof to Twilight's new alicorn wings.

"They're okay, still getting used to them though." Twilight said with a chuckle.

Meanwhile, Princess Luna made her way over to the lasagna table, where Caesar was waiting with a huge smile and a plate of food. "Princess Luna! I did not know you and your sister would be attending!" He said as he bowed, while simultaneously holding the plate up at the princess.

"Oh dear Caesar, you do not have to bow to an old friend." Luna said as she levitated the plate out of his hoof, and helped him up.

He was now blushing as he said "Of course, how silly of me. How have you been Luna, I do miss catering to you and your sister, we had many fun meals together."

"Oh I'm doing fine, just watching over the dreams of all Equestrians, giving guidance to all who need it." Luna said as she took a small, very proper bite of the lasagna with a fork.

"I've been meaning to write you a letter my friend, but between the new shop and preparing all this food, I haven't had the time."

"I understand dear friend. And you know, you can come and visit whenever you like. Celestia and I do desire another taste of your famous calzones."

"Well, whenever I finish getting settled in here, I'd love to come and visit."

"Excellent, I cannot wait." Luna said with a smile.

While Caesar and Luna caught up, Derpy began opening her presents. She started with Luna's which was a dark blue dreamcatcher, adorned with various feathers and other such novelties. The second was Celestia's, which was a golden sundial, marked with various symbols and numbers. Twilight had caught glimpse of this, and her eyes lit up with envy. Other presents included a bottle of Sweet Apple Acres' Finest Aged Cider from Applejack, A silver tiara with several jewels on it from Rarity, a handheld party cannon from Pinkie Pie, a book on the history of muffins from Twilight, a wooden carving of several critters from Fluttershy, a signed poster of Spitfire from Rainbow Dash, an original Kenny Hoofins album from Vinyl Scratch, a cape embroidered with pictures of muffins from the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and many more.

The party went on long after the sun went down, and ponies of all sizes moved and grooved to the sick beats of Vinyl Scratch and Octavia, even the princesses began dancing with the crowd. Everypony was having a great time, and by then Caesar's lasagna was long gone. He himself was now partaking in a dance with Fluttershy, the two of which had become quite acquainted during the party.

"The lasagna was great Caesar," Fluttershy said as she danced around to the beat of _Ballroom Blitz._

"Thank you Fluttershy, I enjoyed making it quite a lot!" He replied as he took her hoof and twirled her to the beat of the music.

Nopony could say exactly when the party "ended", but most of the crowd began to leave around 11:00. Even Princess Celestia began dozing off, so Luna guided her to the chariots, where they both said their goodbyes and made their way back to Canterlot.

The next morning, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Twilight spent some time cleaning up the field, after which all of them retired to Twilight's house to rest, and recuperate in preparation for Gummy's party, which was only a few days away.


	5. Critter Picnic (Ft Spaghetti)

Caesar awoke in his bed the day after Derpy's party. He was proud of how well it went, and how much everypony loved his food. He decided he would take the day off to gather some more ingredients, and later he would write a letter to his dear friend Princess Luna. He got himself groomed, then grabbed his basket and was out of the door. He trotted merely down the roads of Ponyville, picking up various vegetables and herbs. Although he had many of these ingredients growing at the shop, most were not yet ripe, and he felt a trip through town would give him a chance to get out and meet ponies. He passed a stand which carried assortments of trinkets and bobbles, and had a flag flying in front of it with a picture of a star. The pony behind the counter had a black hat on, under it was his mane, which was medium length and black. The back of the hat had an odd appearance to it, as it seemed that the pony's mane was connected to the hat in the back. His coat was a deep purplish color, and he wore a black leather jacket, which covered his cutie mark.

"Aren't you hot wearing all that?" Caesar asked as he looked upon the various items on the stand.

"No." Said the pony in a deep and foreboding voice. Caesar could tell this stallion meant business as he tipped the brim of his hat over his eyes.

Caesar's eyes were then caught by a curious looking stone mask, which looked as though it was from some far away place. The eyes of the mask were cold and hallow, and there were small fangs protruding out of the mouth. Before Caesar could pick it up to further examine it, however, he heard Fluttershy call to him from somewhere in the distance. He excused himself from the pony running the stand and made his way over to the direction of Fluttershy's voice. Caesar heard the pony at the stand mutter something that sounded like "What a pain…" as he trotted away.

After a few moments of searching, Caesar found Fluttershy at a stand filled with flowers of all shapes, sizes, and colors. "Hello Fluttershy." He said as he walked up to her.

"Oh, hello Caesar. I was wondering if, um, if you weren't busy, if you could maybe make a little bit of pizza for me… Im having a critter picnic by my house later, and it'd be nice to have some refreshments…" She said, blushing as she picked up a rose as red as an apple.

"Of course Fluttershy, I'd love to. Just let me know when the picnic is and I'll swing by and drop off the food." Caesar said as he picked up a zinnia, whose stem happened to be broken.

"Well, if you…um…want to stay and enjoy the…um…picnic, you can…" Fluttershy said as she hid her face behind her long pink hair. Caesar could not tell, but she was blushing uncontrollably.

"Yeah sure, that sounds great! I'd love to" Caesar said as he himself attempted to hide a small blush.

So with that, both of them said goodbye and made their separate ways; Caesar back to his shop, and Fluttershy to her cottage. At his shop, Caesar began to prepare a generous helping of spaghetti. He was not planning to charge Fluttershy for it, but even if he had been, he would have added extra for no charge. While he was preparing his signature sauce, he began thinking of Fluttershy. In fact, he began thinking of many of the denizens of Ponyville. Everypony had been super nice to him, and for that he was very grateful. Nice ponies made moving his life to a new place much easier. He could not wait to write to Luna about how much he enjoyed Ponyville.

Meanwhile Fluttershy was preparing things for the soon to come picnic. "Oh Angel," she said as she packed a red and white checkered blanket into a basket, "Caesar seems like such a nice pony, and getting to know him seems like such a swell thing to do."

Angel rolled his eyes as he threw a couple of cups into the basket, and ran to the stove to check on a kettle of tea being brewed. He was not overly excited about Fluttershy leaving to hang out with this "new pony". Of course, Angel knew very well that ALL animals were invited to Fluttershy's critter picnics, but he would refuse to go this time around.

After a few hours, all preparations were made, and both ponies made their way to the field near Fluttershy's house. Fluttershy, of course, arrived first, and began setting up the blanket and other such accessories. Caesar arrived not long after, with a rather large container full of spaghetti. The aroma of the sauce reached Fluttershy's nostrils before she noticed Caesar, and her mouth began to water as her eyes began to flutter.

"Hello Fluttershy! I made lots of spaghetti, so I hope you and your animal friends are nice and hungry!" Caesar said as he took a seat on the blanket, placing the spaghetti in the middle as he did so.

Fluttershy looked around for a moment for some plates and silverware, before realizing that she had forgotten them. "Um…I…um…think I forgot the um….plates…" she said as she looked down, blushing.

"Oh that's alright," Caesar said as he reached into a small satchel he had brought, "I always bring those sorts of things. An old habit I guess."

"Wow, that's nice…" Fluttershy said as she reached for a thermos, filled with freshly brewed tea.

"Oh dear," Caesar said after a moment of fiddling with the satchel, "It seems I've only brought one plate…I suppose putting dish day off until the last minute is a bad idea…"

"That's, um, okay. We can…maybe just…share the plate…" Fluttershy muttered as she gently spun the plate on the blanket with her hoof.

"Oh, excellent idea!" Caesar said replied, before thinking of how his response would have sounded to Fluttershy. "I mean…well….yeah…" He said as he looked down, blushing.

So the two of them sat, for what felt like hours, after the spaghetti was served on the one plate. Neither had touched the food yet, nor said anything to one another. Then Fluttershy's stomach rumbled, and she let out an embarrassed squee. After her chatty stomach had subsided its conversation, she reached for a fork and twisted some noodles around it. As she ate the fork-full, Caesar too commenced twisting noodles around his fork. As they both began to enjoy their noodles, they found themselves slurping one long noodle each. Both noodles were embedded into the pile of spaghetti, and both ponies made an effort to get the end of their noodle. When it became apparent that the noodles were, in fact, bringing the ponies closer to the pile, and in turn closer to each other, both of them began to blush. They continued slurping their noodles until they revealed themselves to be the same noodle. A rather long noodle, the likes of which Caesar had no idea could have gotten into his pasta. The ponies made no attempt at breaking away from each other, and after a few seconds their faces were almost touching. Just as both ponies closed their eyes, a voice could be heard coming from somewhere above them.

It was Rainbow Dash, and she was flying towards them rather quickly. "What's going on HERE?!" She said as she landed in a tree branch directly above Caesar and Fluttershy's head. "Having a little 'Critter Picnic', I see."

Both ponies quickly opened their eyes and jerked away from each other, their cheeks as red as the tomatoes Caesar used in his signature sauce. "Ahhh-ha-ha!" Caesar shouted as he looked around frantically, smiling a nervous smile. "It was nothing, just some spaghetti!" He said as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hoof.

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy muttered as she tilted her head down, hiding her face behind her pink mane.

"What's up with you two?" Rainbow Dash said as she made a confused face, scrunching her nose as she did.

"Ahem, it was a critter picnic, like you said," Caesar began as he recollected himself, "And we were merely sharing a plate of spaghetti like friends do, for I forgot to bring an extra one." He said, confident Rainbow Dash had not seen anything compromising.

"Well whatever, Gummy's party's in a couple of days, and I haven't thought of anything to get him. I was coming here to get some suggestions from you guys." Dash said as she sat on the blanket right in between Fluttershy and Caesar, separating the awkwardness that had made its way into the atmosphere.

"Well, let's see what we can find." Fluttershy said as she lifted her head, revealing her face. "I do know a thing or two about animals."

"Sweet! Let's go into town right now!" Dash said as she soared into the sky, performing several small tricks, then landing again with a huge grin on her face.

With that, the three friends cleaned up the picnic, and made their way into Ponyville.


	6. The Hunt for Gifts

Gummy's big day was not far off, and Rainbow Dash, among others, was still contemplating what to get him. He was a simple alligator, with simple taste. Of course, Pinkie Pie was the only one who Gummy had told that fact, but she happily passed on the message to other ponies. Fluttershy and Caesar joined Rainbow Dash in a quest for a suitable gift for the alligator. The three friends strolled through downtown Ponyville, passing many stands and shops carrying a multitude of interesting trinkets. One of the stands they passed was in the exact same location as the one Caesar had visited earlier, the one with the earth pony in the black leather coat. In its wake was a stand whose owner was a golden coated unicorn, whose mane was a light blonde, styled fairly long and adorned with a green headband. At the center of the headband was a green heart. The outfit he wore was an odd one, very poofy and of a color similar to his coat. There were various adornments on his ensemble which highly resembled that of his headband. His cutie mark was covered by a pair of poofy dungarees, similarly to that of the other pony's cutie mark, which was covered by his coat. The pony's eyes were crimson, and he smiled a smile which revealed fangs. When Rainbow Dash gazed at him, she was reminded of Flutterbat, her shy friend's previous alter ego. Although this pony had a more…sinister air about him.

As the friends approached his stand, the pony grinned and said "Welcome, welcome. Everything is for sale, friends." His voice had an accent reminiscent of Canterlot upper class. Rarity would most likely have been taken aback by his fashion, and assumed him to be some rich traveling merchant.

"Well, we're looking for something an alligator would like." Rainbow Dash said as she began examining the various trinkets scattered about the stand.

"Well, I did have a lovely stone mask earlier, however it seems to have been…stolen…by a pony by the name of Coltstar. You would not have happened to have seen this pony around, would you?" The mysterious stallion questioned, as he examined the three companions carefully. It seemed as though his curiosity was mostly fixed on Fluttershy, who was looking away nervously. He took a sniff of the air, then cast a rather disapproving glance in Fluttershy's general direction.

"Can't say I have, my good pony." Caesar interjected as he picked up a dagger, the blade well worn. He examined it for a moment, noticing a very faint stain of what he could only assume was blood. After a few seconds he put the knife back on the stand, then proceeded to glance at a few other trinkets.

"Ah what a shame," the pony said in a sour tone. "In any case, this stand is now closed. I do apologize for the inconvenience. Have a…lovely day." He said as he began to put away all of his oddities.

The trio left the stand, and heard the mysterious pony utter the phrase "Useless, Useless." as they made their way towards another, more cheerful looking stand. At this stand, Lyra Heartstrings was selling an assortment of both new, and used instruments. The trio approached the stand, taking in the eyeful of metallic sparkles of trumpets, clarinets, harps, and dozens of other instruments. Caesar approached Lyra, who wore a lovely smile. "Afternoon my good lady," He said as Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy began inspecting various instruments, "I was wondering if perhaps you had an instrument befitting of an alligator."

"An alligator, huh?" Lyra gave a puzzled look for a moment before making a realization, "Oh! You must be talking about Gummy, I assume you're all searching for a birthday present for him?"

"Yes ma'am." Caesar replied as he spotted a particularly interesting trumpet out of the corner of his eye. He picked it up, inspecting it for any imperfections.

"Oh, that's quite a lovely piece. Used by a pony who previously played for Princess Celestia personally. Can't recall his name right now, but he came by a few weeks ago and sold that to me." Lyra said as she attempted to recollect the name of the musician.

"Excellent! I do enjoy pieces with an interesting history. How much is it?" Caesar questioned as he reached into a satchel he was carrying.

"I've marked it at twenty bits. But I was at Derpy's party the other day, and for the pony who made that incredible lasagna, I'll say fifteen bits."

"My goodness, how generous! I'll take it!" Caesar said as he happily placed the bits on the top of the stand. He proceeded to stow away the trumpet in his satchel.

"Always a pleasure doing business with such a talented pony! Have a nice day!" She said as the trio began a journey to one of the other stands, each saying a thank you to Lyra. The stand they had in mind was run by Berry Punch, a pony whose thirst was notorious throughout Ponyville. Unsurprisingly, her stand was stocked with various aged ciders, sparkling juices, and other such beverages. Rainbow Dash flew gracefully over to the stand, immediately setting her sights on a particular bottle. Its label read:

CLOUDSDALE FINELY AGED CLOUD NECTAR

GOURMET BEVERAGE

Rainbow Dash let out a gasp of excitement as she reached for the bottle, but as she did, another hoof was placed on its surface at the same time as Dash's. The owner of the hoof was none other than Kenny Hoofins, legendary pegasus rockstar of a bygone age. His coat was a sandy brown, accompanied by a medium length mahogany mane. On his face was a goatee of the same lovely mahogany brown. His cutie mark, well known to all fans of his music, was a silver lightning bolt. He was wearing a pair of aviator's glasses, which concealed his brown eyes. On his face was a friendly, but determined look.

"OH MY GOSH!" Dash gasped as her face went red, and she did a quick loop-de-loop in the air near the stand. Meanwhile Caesar and Fluttershy were watching the chance encounter with wide eyes. They had seen the pegasus reach for the bottle at the same time as Rainbow Dash, but utter awe had reduced their vocal chords to nothingness, rendering them unable to speak.

"Hey there." Kenny said as he made a subtle bow of his head. "Judging by that reaction, I assume you know who I am."

"Duh, you're only THE biggest rockstar from Cloudsdale!" Dash said as she took his outstretched hoof, shaking it with glee.

"Well shoot, I wouldn't say I'm the biggest star these days, but I am still touring, so I suppose I'm not completely irrelevant yet."

"Geez, I have every one of your albums, you're like my favorite artist, and I can't believe you're so humble too!"

"Well I think it pays to be nice. In any case, I noticed you're also after that Cloud Nectar."

"Oh yeah, I was gonna get it as a gift for my friend's pet alligator's birthday."

"Interesting. It wouldn't happen to be Pinkie Pie's pet alligator, Gummy, would it?"

"How did YOU know!?" Dash said with a shocked face. By now Caesar and Fluttershy had retreated to another stand; one with baskets full of finely aged cheeses and sausages.

"Well, it just so happens that I'm a good friend of the Pie family. And when I heard sweet little Pinkie's alligator was havin' a birthday party, I decided I'd swing by and sing a few songs for the little guy."

"Really!? Pinkie NEVER told me her family knew someone as cool as YOU!"

"Well, I tend to ask people to keep that fact a secret. Don't much care for the paparazzi anymore these days."

"That makes sense." Rainbow Dash said with a happy grin. By now her face was full of excitement.

"Yeeup. Now speaking of that cider," Kenny said as he motioned his head towards the stand, whose owner was by now fast asleep behind the counter. "I was wanting to buy it, as a keepsake from my hometown. It's been a while since I've been back to Cloudsdale. But, I heard you knew a pony who could make some killer Italian food."

From over at the cheese stand, Caesar heard the mention of _Italian Food_ and rushed like a bullet to where Rainbow Dash and Kenny Hoofins were. Leaving Fluttershy alone with a recently purchased basket of cheeses, sausages, and crackers. She eventually made her way to the beverage stand, where Caesar was introducing himself to Kenny.

"Mister Hoofins, my name is Caesar Antonio Mozzarella, and I am the founder, owner, and chef of an Italian restaurant right here in Ponyville."

"Excellent. I was thinking, if I let you guys buy that nectar, perhaps you could make me a little lunch some time in return."

Rainbow Dash and Caesar looked at each other with huge smiles, both shouting "YEEEEEEAH!"

"Sweet, I'll talk to you at the party." Kenny said with a smile as he turned and made his way away from the stand.

Thus the nectar was paid for, and the trio of ponies had gifts in hand, and a party they couldn't wait to attend.


	7. Preparations and Delivery

The day was finally at hand, and with gifts purchased, ponies began making last minute preparations for Gummy's birthday party. It would be held at Sugarcube Corner, with at least two dozen ponies expected to attend. Caesar, who's culinary talents had been contracted to craft the food for this occasion, was busy preparing the many entrees he would bring to the party. Among the chief dish, the Birthday Pizza Special, there were several other dishes Caesar would be preparing. Upon telling Rainbow Dash his plans for the abundance of food he would make, she scoffed at him, saying "Yeah right, one pony _can't_ make that much food!"

But little did Rainbow Dash know, Caesar had in fact hired on some extra help at the shop. The day before, while Caesar was making some early preparations, an earth pony had entered the establishment. He was a rather ragged looking pony at first glance; his mane and tail were a deep brown, and both were very long, and unkempt, and his coat was a sandy blonde. He wore a crimson leisure robe, the color of which was well worn, and there were various stains adorning the garment. The robe obstructed the view of the pony's cutie mark, and a pair of sunglasses obscured his eyes. He entered the establishment, where Caesar welcomed him with his usual "Hello," before turning to face the pony.

"What's up, bro?" The pony said. His voice was deep, with a raspy undertone, but rather smooth on the whole.

Caesar stood for a moment, a bit perplexed at first, before returning to his usual cheery mannerisms. "Why hello, my good sir. What can I do for you on this fine day?"

"Well man, I need a job, and I saw your place was hiring." The pony said as he made his way over to one of the stools in front of the counter.

"Ahh yes…we are in fact looking for some help. You know, you're actually the first pony who has inquired about the job." As he said this, Caesar reached under the counter, producing a sheet of paper, labelled _Resume._ "If you'll go ahead and fill this out, we can get started."

With that, Caesar handed the pony the resume, and a pen. He sat at the counter for well over half an hour filling out the paper, which should have taken no more than five minutes. But Caesar was not one to discriminate, and figured ponies should take as much time as they need on such matters. When the stallion was done, he handed Caesar the paper, which was filled out as follows:

Name: Bro Lecoolle

Current Residence: 42069 Renots Rd.

Prior Occupation: waste management technician

Food Skills: I can cook some mean pasta

Reasons for Applying: Money

How Did You Here About Our Establishment?

I walked by and saw a help wanted sign

Caesar was not very picky when it came to the prospect of new help, and his resumes were a testament to that fact. He took one look at the paper, shrugged, and began an interview with Bro, knowing he would most likely give him the job.

So after a rather short, boring interview, Caesar hired Bro, trained him, and they were working on the order for Gummy's party, which was less than twenty-four hours away. Which brings us back to the present; Caesar and Bro were making last minute preparations, including baking the Birthday Pizza. Other ponies around Ponyville were also preparing; Rarity had offered to craft Gummy a small tuxedo, Fluttershy was brushing her mane amongst her critter companions, Rainbow Dash was wrapping the present she purchased, which was something most other ponies were doing. Twilight Sparkle did not know if Gummy could read, and she figured he could not, so she instead opted to get him a pile of parchment and a few coloring pencils and crayons. _You never know_ , she thought to herself, _he may very well be the next Ponynardo DaVinci._ The thought brought a chuckle, which her dragon assistant, Spike, threw a confused glance at. Spike was thinking a bit more practically on the subject, and he had purchased Gummy a hammock in which he could take naps and otherwise be lazy, something Spike was all too good at. Over at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack had rounded up one of her extra jars of Zap Apple Jam, which she planned to give Gummy. Applejack was renowned around Ponyville for giving rather excellent gifts.

Meanwhile, at Sugarcube Corner, Pinkie Pie was making several last minute preparations. She had sent Gummy off with a close friend of hers, Vinyl Scratch, for the day, in an attempt to ensure he did not see any of the decorations beforehand. Pinkie was planning on it being a "half-surprise party", as she had put it to several of her friends. Now that she had almost completed the preparations, she began thinking to the pizza, which would be done and delivered to the party twenty minutes before it started. She remembered the lasagna that Caesar had made for Derpy's party, and her mouth began to water at the thought of more fine Italian cuisine.

"I can't WAIT!" she suddenly screamed as she threw her hooves in the air.

"For what, Pinkie?" said a familiar voice from the other side of the room. Pinkie was so entranced by the thought of pizza, she had not even heard her sister Maud enter. She was in turn followed by her younger sister, Marble Pie.

"For the PIZZA silly!" Pinkie said as she threw herself at Maud and Marble, taking them both in her hooves and giving them a huge bear hug. Pinkie had invited her entire family to the party, but in light of Rock Season, her parents and sister, Limestone Pie, had stayed behind to keep the Rock Farm running.

"Hello Pinkie Pie," Maud said in her familiar monotone voice as Pinkie let go of her and Marble, "We're so glad to see you, aren't we Marble?"

"Mm-hmm." Marble muttered softly from behind her mane.

"I'm SO GLAD to see you guys!" Pinkie squealed as she scooped them up for yet another hug. Afterwards, the two placed their presents on a table in the corner of the room, and the three sisters talked and caught up.

While three of the four Pie sisters were getting reacquainted at Sugarcube Corner, Caesar and Bro Lecoolle were finishing the pizza. It would take both of their combined strength to pull the cart that would transport the mammoth sized pizza. Caesar's oven at his shop was designed to be able to cook multiple pizzas and other such foods at once, but it took his entire oven to cook the special Birthday Pizza.

"Alright Bro," Caesar began as he pulled the cart in front of the shop, preparing to transport the pizza from the counter onto it, "this shouldn't take long, but I warn you, it'll be heavy, and we need to be careful of the middle, so that it doesn't fall out."

"Gotcha man, no problem." Bro said in his deep, calm voice.

The two colts began moving the pizza, very slowly at first, until they were acclimated to its weight. After no time at all, the two had hoisted it onto the wagon, with no shortage of grunts and strained faces. The pizza easily weighed two hundred pounds, and although both ponies were strong, the awkward shape of the box presented a problem. But soon enough they were done, and the two strapped themselves to the cart and began pulling it to Sugarcube Corner. Transporting the pizza this way was far easier than carrying it, but the ponies still moved at a rather slow pace, so as to not damage the food. Along the way, they both made small talk about nothing too important.

"So how big a party's this gonna be?" Bro asked.

"Well, not too big. It's only supposed to be close friends and family. I catered a party not too long ago where Princess Luna AND Celestia showed up, though. It was pretty fun." Caesar replied with a proud smile.

"Sweet. And you said this party's for a baby crocodile?"

"Actually, he's an alligator. But yeah, his owner's really nice, and she throws parties for _every_ pony." Caesar said thoughtfully.

It was not long after that the two arrived at the venue, to be greeted by the ever-energetic Pinkie Pie. Introductions were made between Bro and her, and the three entered Sugarcube Corner. Maud and Marble were both standing in the center of the room, Marble looking rather embarrassed.

"Hello ladies," Caesar said politely as he and Bro moved the pizza through the front room and into the kitchen.

"Hello Caesar, I'm Maud. Pinkie told my sister Marble and I all about you."

"Mm-hmm." Marble added with a blush.

The two chefs entered the Kitchen and placed the pizza on the counter, then Pinkie offered them both glasses of water and, after Caesar had gotten his fill of drink, he made his way back out to the cart and brought in his and Bro's presents and placed them on the gift table. Caesar had gone out with Bro during one of their breaks and helped him pick out a gift for Gummy, which was a ten thousand piece puzzle of Canterlot. Then the five ponies proceeded to sit in the main room and talk, for the party was still about twenty minutes away…


	8. Gummy's Night, Ft a Very Important Pony

Caesar and Bro had been visiting with Pinkie Pie and her sisters, Maud and Marble Pie, after having delivered the pizza that would serve as the main course for Gummy's birthday dinner. They talked about nothing in particular; Bro himself spaced out more than once. It seemed as though their conversations were really only half baked attempts at passing the time until the party began. Pinkie's sisters were very polite and nice, as Caesar had come to expect from most ponies in the town. However, his attention was mostly fixed on the youngest sister, Marble Pie. Caesar found her silence odd; not the sort of odd that was off-putting or scary, rather, the sort of odd that was charming and endearing. He felt rather surprised upon meeting the sisters, figuring they would both bear the mannerisms of Pinkie. He was pleasantly surprised that both were quite soft-spoken. Marble had, on some level, reminded him of Fluttershy, and how he thought her shyness was, well, adorable. Most ponies shared this opinion of the yellow mare, save for a certain griffon, among others. But the feeling Caesar got when talking with, or rather to, Marble was one of a different sort of adorableness. She was shy far beyond Fluttershy, resorting her to being just plain mute, and this struck Caesar as incredibly cute. Before he could get any further reading on Marble, however, Pinkie had abruptly announced that the party was at hand. The time was completely out of Caesar mind up until then, but as he checked the clock after being broken from his cute-stricken daze, he saw it was, in fact, time for the festivities to begin.

One by one the guests arrived, gifts in hand and prepared to party. It would surely not be as big a celebration as Derpy's, however a social gathering amongst friends was always a fun one. Caesar was quite excited about the party, as he had grown quickly accustomed to the party rituals set forth by Pinkie Pie, and was prepared to have a ton of fun with his new friends. Once everypony had arrived, Pinkie began to announce the plans for the night;

"Alrighty everypony, Vinyl's coming back with Gummy in about five minutes, so we need to hide so we can _really_ SURPRISE HIM!" Pinkie said as she threw her hooves into the air in an exaggerated fashion, the likes of which her friends were quite used to. "After they get here, we'll start the party off with some music, then later we'll open gifts, and after that we'll _eat!_ " she continued with a look of utter excitement, stars in her eyes. "Now let's all hide, 'cuz I think I hear them coming!" she said as she dove under a table.

With that, the partygoers each hid in various locations around the room. Among them was Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Lyra Heartstrings, Bon Bon, Octavia Melody, and a few other ponies whom were good friends of Pinkie and Gummy. Of course, it was hard _not_ to be best friends with Pinkie, and to that extent Gummy. After everypony was well hidden, they all heard the handle of the front door come alive, and simultaneously the door opened with a slow, deliberate creak. There was a silhouette of a pony, which stood in the doorway for a few seconds before producing a wizard's cap and cloak from somewhere, and proceeded to don both as it entered the darkness of Sugarcube Corner.

"The Great and Powerful _Trixie_ is here to perform feats of amazing magic for the birthday alligator, Gummy!" The pony said as Pinkie turned the lights on.

"Oh _yeah_ ," Pinkie said as she rubbed her hoof to her chin, "I forgot I hired Trixie to do some magic for Gummy." she said hazily as Twilight let out a groan.

"Of _course_ you did," Trixie exclaimed as she made her way to the center of the room, a look of total pride on her face.

"Well, Gummy'll be here any second, so we all need to hide again!" Pinkie said as she turned the lights off once more. As she did so, Twilight used her magic to levitate Trixie to her hiding spot. Trixie, completely taken aback by the feat of magic, wore a look of simultaneous shock and embarrassment, blushing slightly.

The ponies all waited for a few more moments, before the door once again creaked to life; revealing a familiar pony silhouette, albeit one with a second silhouette of a certain baby alligator affixed on top of it. It was none other than Vinyl Scratch, who entered the room as Pinkie jumped from her hiding place and clicked the lights on, screaming _HAPPY BIRTHDAY GUMMY!_ in a voice so loud, it caused a glass somewhere far off to shatter. Everypony chimed in, and soon enough the party had begun. Vinyl took her place next to Octavia and the two began playing an ensemble of classical music and dubstep. The guests all played games and chatted, Lyra and Bon Bon staying particularly close to each other. Caesar was enjoying himself thoroughly. He had introduced Bro to the rest of his friends, and Bro had passed out on a couch almost immediately after.

With the soothing sounds of classical music in the background, Trixie had began her magic show. She performed several feats of wonder, including juggling several knives in the air with her magic, and turning a fork into a spoon. She had also pulled a pinecone from behind Lyra's ear. After several more feats, Trixie declared she was spent, and retired to a chair with some cider. Twilight had joined her, and the two began discussing various topics of magic. Twilight was quite impressed at Trixie's new attitude, and found herself enjoying the light blue unicorn's company. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were sitting and chatting about sports and the like, while Fluttershy and Rarity were talking fashion. Pinkie was playing Pin the Tail on the Pony with Gummy, and all the other ponies were simply chatting and having a swell time. An hour or so passed, and a knock was heard on the front door. Pinkie's eyes lit up, and she bolted to open the door. When she did, everypony saw a familiar stallion standing with his front hooves crossed, a friendly smile upon his face. It was the one and only Kenny Hoofins, who had come to play at Gummy's birthday. A single tear of glee ran down Gummy's face as the rockstar entered.

"Hey everypony, hope I'm not late." He said cooly as he lifted a pair of aviator sunglasses off his face.

"Of _course_ not, Kenny!" Pinkie said as she trotted over and hugged him. He was clad in a leather pilot's jacket, and a smile which was warm and wise. Pinkie showed Kenny to a special seat, where he retired, preparing his voice for a grand birthday finale.

After Kenny arrived, Gummy opened his gifts. Kenny had given him a signed album, and one of his old pairs of shades. Lyra and Bon Bon had both chipped in to get him a special alligator swing set, and Trixie had given him a complete set of Daring Doo books, signed by A.K. Yearling; this caused Rainbow Dash to give a slight squeal, while drooling a bit. Other ponies had given good gifts as well, and when all the presents were opened, Pinkie and Caesar went to the kitchen to fetch pieces of the pizza for the guests. The other appetizers were taken into the main room as well, and everypony had their fill of food. When most ponies took a bite of the pizza, they gave satisfied moans and nods of approval. Caesar's pizza, in their opinions, was the single greatest they had ever tasted. Caesar looked around the room from face to face, savoring the looks of utter happiness his food was bringing. He had also taken a bite of his own slice, and relished in the taste and nostalgia that came with it. He had made this pizza, albeit on a smaller scale, for Princess Celestia and Luna on several occasions, and even Princess Cadence on one. He absolutely loved the way his food brought ponies together. From the moment they smelled the enticing aroma of the marinara sauce, coupled with the scent of exquisite cheese and garlic, ponies forgot all their worries. Caesar even made sure the crust was a delight, and it was quite rare for anypony to _not_ finish a slice in its entirety.

Once everypony was full of pizza, amongst appetizers and cake, they all sang one last happy birthday to Gummy. After this, Kenny was handed the mic, and he began singing the ballads that had put him on top. He began with the quintessential, and slowly worked his way into the lesser known hits; however, everypony thoroughly enjoyed his music, and gave standing ovations to every song. Kenny had sung for close to an hour, performing several encores to some songs, and then gave a small speech, thanking everypony for coming, and applauding the quality of all the food; especially the pizza. The party began to slow down considerably after that; Kenny had signed a few autographs, and once he left, most ponies followed suit. Alongside Pinkie and Gummy, the only ponies who remained after the party were Rarity, Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, and Caesar, whom had given permission to Bro to leave for the day. They had all volunteered to help Pinkie with the clean up, and she gladly accepted. Once she had put Gummy to bed, the five friends began cleaning.

"Thanks for coming, everypony!" Pinkie said with a smile as she took down a large banner, with Caesar's help.

"Of course, darling." Rarity said as she levitated several party cups and plates into the trash with her magic, "It was quite a terrific party! One of Pinkie's finest."

Pinkie blushed slightly at the compliment, as Applejack joined in on the conversation; "Darn tootin'! You sure went all out on this one, Pinks!"

"You're right, AJ!" Twilight said from across the room as she levitated several balloons into a clump, popping them with her magic after.

"Yup, I sure had fun," Caesar added as he began packing leftovers into various containers, "You sure know some cool ponies!"

"You're all too nice!" Pinkie said as she cleaned her party cannon, readying it for some future event.

The ponies continued to clean, and once Caesar had finished packing the rest of the leftovers, he offered boxes to each of them, whom gladly accepted. He stuck around a little while longer, but said he had to leave in order to take care of a letter to someone. The friends all said their farewells, and Caesar made his way back to his studio apartment above the restaurant. Along the way, he looked up at the moon hanging in the sky. It was a crescent, and cast a sullen light on the dim streets of Ponyville. Caesar loved the moon, and thought instantly of Luna, whom he would be writing a letter to as soon as he got home…


End file.
